Aidan O’Brien is counting on G1 Derby Stakes (2405m) flop The Lion In Winter to roar back to life in a top-class edition of the G1 Prix Jean Prat (1400m) at Deauville in France on Sunday (6 July).

A long-time pre-race favourite for the Derby, The Lion In Winter  raced keenly on his seasonal reappearance when beaten at odds-on in the G2 Dante Stakes (2051m), then failed to make any impression when 14th behind stablemate Lambourn in the 2405m Epsom Classic.

In a surprise move, O'Brien supplemented the highly-regarded son of Sea The Stars for Sunday's race, the only Group 1 for three-year-olds over 1400m in Europe.

This was the distance that The Lion In Winter hit the headlines over with an impressive success in a Group 3 at York last August.

O'Brien is a master at bringing his top stars back to their peak after failing to fire, and his gamble in adding The Lion In Winter into the Prix Jean Prat mix at the Normandy coastal course is intriguing. 

"He's not just going to improve, he's going to make a lot of improvement. If he jumped out and did everything right he might have got away with it, but he didn't do anything right. 

"He has a lot of class and speed," O'Brien reflected after the Dante.

After the Derby, O'Brien suggested The Lion In Winter failed to get the trip, which all points to a big run up Deauville's famous La Touques straight this weekend.

He faces a stern test with opposition led by Shadow Of Light.

Godolphin's champion two-year-old took third in the G1 2000 Guineas (1600m) before fifth when favourite for a quality Group 1 over 1200m at Royal Ascot.

Another British challenger, Cosmic Year, turns up after only finding the brilliant Field Of Gold too good in the G1 Irish 2000 Guineas (1600m).

"(Trainer) Harry Charlton has always held him in high regard and he has the potential of a high-class horse," said Barry Mahon, racing manager to owner Juddmonte, who supplemented Apollo Fountain for the race.

Cosmic Year travels to France after avoiding a clash with Field Of Gold again at Royal Ascot. Chief among the home French challenge is Maranoa Charlie.

Blessed with a high cruising speed he easily held off the race-fit Silius to land a Group 3 over this distance for the second time this season in June.

"He seems to have plenty of gas and I think we'll look at races for him that place an accent on his speed," said trainer Christopher Head at the time.

The Prix Jean Prat, which gets Deauville's summer racing season underway, has proved a graveyard for favourite backers in recent years, with Puchkine scoring at 35/1 last year, Good Guess at 40/1 (2023), and Laws Of Indices at 29/1 (2021).

And one less obvious runner warranting respect is Daylight, last seen finishing seventh, beaten less than five lengths, by Zarigana in the G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches (French 1000 Guineas, 1600m).

"She appears well at home and we're hoping for a big run from her on Sunday," said her owner's racing manager Pauline Chehboub.